"The task for leaders and citizens alike is to dare to follow his example."

Writing in the Financial Times, Kofi Annan argues that the most important lesson of Nelson Mandela's life is that each one of us – and not just visionary leaders – must play a role building just, equal societies.

Kofi Annan visited Côte d’Ivoire last month to assess the country’s progress since the post-election violence of 2010-11. While welcoming promising signs of economic recovery, he urged Ivorians to work together to build an inclusive future and prepare for peaceful elections in 2015.

Available in:

Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter and Graça Machel planned to travel to Zimbabwe in November 2008 in order to make a first-hand assessment of the humanitarian situation in the country. Following their refused entry into Zimbabwe, the Elders instead met leaders from politics, business, international organisations and civil society in Johannesburg, South Africa, many of whom travelled from Zimbabwe to see them.

Chair of The Elders

You have to be open as a leader, willing to listen. A leader need not always be right; a good leader is also a good follower.

Former UN Secretary-General

I remain convinced that the United Nations belongs not only to the governments of its Member States but above all to their peoples, in whose name it was founded. That means that it must become more democratic by ensuring that all the world's peoples, and not only the richest and the most powerful, have a voice and also that those who make the decisions genuinely represent their peoples and are accountable to them.

International conflict mediator

Today's real borders are not between nations, but between powerful and powerless, free and fettered, privileged and humiliated. Today, no walls can separate humanitarian or human rights crises in one part of the world from national crises in another.

Advocate for Africa

If there is one area which, above all, will determine the direction of Africa’s future, it is the quality of its governance and leadership.

Kofi Annan biography

Former UN Secretary-General, Nobel Peace Laureate and Chair of The Elders; put development, human rights, the rule of law, good governance and peace at the top of the United Nations agenda.

Chair of The Elders

United Nations Secretary-General 1997-2006

Initiated the Millennium Development Goals

Played a central role in the acceptance by Member States of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine

Nobel Peace Laureate (jointly with the UN) 2001

UN/Arab League Joint Special Envoy on the Syrian crisis 2012

Chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, Myanmar 2016

"No one can deprive us of the right, as concerned global citizens, to want to do something about the challenges that face us."

Former UN Secretary-General, former South-Korean Foreign Minister and diplomat; he sought to give voice to the world’s poorest and vulnerable people by putting Sustainable Development Goals, climate change, and gender equality at the top of the UN agenda.

Elder Emeritus

Former President of Brazil; implemented major land reform programme, reduced poverty and significantly improved health and education; an acclaimed sociologist and global advocate for drug policy reform.

Former President of Chile; tenacious fighter for democracy and human rights; implemented health reform; and reduced economic inequality while diversifying Chile’s external trade in the era of globalisation.

Writing in The International Herald Tribune, Kofi Annan argues that our challenge is to protect the innocent by building an International Criminal Court so strong, universal and effective that it will deter even the most determined of despots.

In his speech to a conference to mark 60 years of the Geneva Conventions organised by Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Kofi Annan outlined what he saw as the real challenges facing the Conventions - and international law - in the coming decades.

The International Criminal Court represents hope for victims of atrocities and sends a message that no one is above the law. Kofi Annan argues that this hope and message would be undermined if the African Union condemns the court because it has charged an African head of state. This article first appeared in The New York Times.

"When we're destroying the globe, you are the ones who will inherit it. Don't let politicians get away with it!"

On 16 October, Kofi Annan and Mary Robinson spoke on climate and ethical leadership with arctic explorer and environmental campaigner Parker Liautaud in front of a two-thousand-strong audience of young leaders at the One Young World Summit in Dublin.

The Elders discuss what they mean by 'speaking truth to power’, and how their status as Elders allows them to – as Jimmy Carter put it – “go where we please, meet with whom we choose, and say what we believe."

The Elders are independent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.